"...Now the Indians. I call them Indians because that's what they are. They're Indians. There's nothing wrong with the word Indian."

George Carlin on Indians

"First of all, it's important to know that the word Indian does not derive from Columbus mistakenly believing he had reached India. India was not even called by that name in 1492, it was known as Hindustan."
"More likely, the word Indian comes from Columbus's description of the people he found here. He was an Italian, and did not speak or write very good Spanish, so in his written accounts he called the Indians, 'Una gente in Dios.' A people in God. In God. In Dios. Indians. It's a perfectly noble and respectable word."

"As far as calling them 'Americans' is concerned, do I even have to point out what an insult this is? -----"

"We steal their hemisphere, kill twenty or so million of them, destroy five hundred separate cultures, herd the survivors onto the worst land we can find, and now we want to name them after ourselves?"

"It's appalling. Haven't we done enough damage? Do we have to further degrade them by tagging them with this repulsive name?...."

"You know, you'd think it would be a fairly simple thing to come over to this continent, commit genocide, eliminate the forests, dam up the rivers, build our malls and massage parlors, sell our blenders and whoopee cushions, poison ourselves with chemicals, and let it go at that."

"But no. We have to compound the insult."

"... I'm glad the Indians have gambling casinos now. It makes me happy that people are losing their rent money to the Indians. Maybe the Indians will get lucky and win their country back. Probably they wouldn't want it. Look at what we did to it."

This is the second time that I've heard George Carlin's version of why First Nations, Natives are called "Indians":

George Carlin on Indians

"First of all, it's important to know that the word Indian does not derive from Columbus mistakenly believing he had reached India. India was not even called by that name in 1492, it was known as Hindustan." "More likely, the word Indian comes from Columbus's description of the people he found here. He was an Italian, and did not speak or write very good Spanish, so in his written accounts he called the Indians, 'Una gente in Dios.' A people in God. In God. In Dios. Indians. It's a perfectly noble and respectable word."

I, personally, don't give a shit what or why Xtopher Columbus called the Taino or Arawak people when he met them. "Indians" is a misnomer and inaccurate. Why would anyone accept being called something they are not? If I came over to George Carlin and called him Rupert Phukwhissle he'd be all like WTF?

I am not an "Indian". Indians wear saris and have dots on their foreheads. They eat curry and live in India. They have an entirely different culture from what my culture is...(not meant to be offensive, just illustrative; I am fully aware that this is a generalization and not all Indians live in India and not all Indians have dots on their foreheads...)

I am Aboriginal, I am a nehiyaw, I am First Nations, I am Indigenous, I am even Cree, but I am not an "Indian" just 'cause some rapist baby-killing gold lusting stink ass Portuguese muthafuckah used the term, even IF the original term was "in dios" 'cause I ain't Portuguese, I don't speak Portuguese, and my people did not call themselves that and why should I accpet being called that? Because a WHITE MAN said it? No thanks.